picture that is confusing me

First off let me just acknowledge that yes I know I am retarded. Also I am only a member of this online community so I dont have anywhere to post this
picture and question, but I also think the people here are smart in technical matters..

I am confused because I think this might work, assuming the magnets where real(obviously fake in the picture) but if they where both same poles and
repelled each other why couldn't it work? I do think that if the stick was attached to the boat it wouldn't work but for some reason I am imagining
that the boy holding the stick was to bring it closer would cause a repulsion and if he was strong enough to hold on then the boat would be forced to
move forward to escape the other magnet.

I dont know why I think one would work and not the other.

Also let me just request please no insane clown posse video links or pics, again I am already acknowledging my total lack of understanding physics.

the magnets would have to be really big and have equal resisting force to prevent them from touching to create the pull force but in my opinion it
would just stay in place since the magnets are of equal size and are positive and negative

As both magnets are on the boat, it would stay still. The magnet would, of course repell or attract, but the boat would not move. Now, if there was
a massive magnet on the shore and one on the boat......................

I'd rather move a boat using oars. Similar principle. By bracing himself in the boat, the rower basically becomes part of the boat. The rower then
reaches out of the boat to push against something external to the boat. And because the boat is floating on water, it will move opposite to the
person's push. By putting a magnetic field on the end of a stick, one might be able to produce a similar effect. But it would be much better if the
field could be turned on and off, and the motion of the "rower" would have to be pretty bizarre, or his own body movement would cancel out the
magnetic effect.

I have heard of experimental magnetic motors for boats. They work against the earth's magnetic field, usually, so they have to be pretty strong. The
alternative is to use some shore-based or underwater device to create a stronger field in the area of the boat. But if the field were constant, and
the magnet in the boat were constant, the boat would tend to just turn around to stabilize the system, then stop moving.

As both magnets are on the boat, it would stay still. The magnet would, of course repell or attract, but the boat would not move. Now, if there was
a massive magnet on the shore and one on the boat.

Truth.

Two magnets will attract (or repel!) one another, but the forces of attraction are negated by the fact that they are indeed attached to the same
object. The boat can't pull itself.

If one of these magnets were placed at a desired destination, the boat would be attracted to it... however, this doesn't mean the force is strong
enough to directly affect the boat. Even a massive magnet would have little effect on another magnet/object over a long distance, especially through a
dense medium (water/air).

What if you tie a longer stick with a magnet to the front of the boat and you lift the stick and let it fall on the other magnet (without hitting each
other) repeatedly. This will push the boat forward but a brake or a fin like wing / would have to be placed at the bottom of the boat to stop the boat
from moving back. Kinda like when you try to move forward on a skateboard without your feet touching the floor.

If you hold a large magnet in one hand, and another large magnet in the other hand, and slowly met them together till yu could feel the pull, would
the tension be enough to drag you across the room by your arm?

That would have the exact same effect as in the picture....nothing. You see the problem is that you can not just tug at the front of a boat and make
it move if you are sitting in it. Replace the mysterious world of magnetism with something mechanical....say a spring, and you'll better understand
the principle here. If you pull on a spring attached to the front of the boat...the boat won't move foreward, if you are pulling it while sitting in
the boat...you will be pushing back on the boat with the same force the spring is pulling it forward.....Same with a magnetic system. Now you can move
a boat using an electrohydrodynamic system. If the boat is in salt water (more conductive) then you run some electricity through the water, in between
a couple of magnets...the magnets will cause the charged water to move, causing the boat to move. Its the sort of thing you might build out of a small
battery, a foam boat and some strong rare earth magnets and enter it in a school's science fair...pretty simple concept. Some subs use it as a quite
and stealthy alternative to regular spinning blades.

Add an Al boat to the mix (most common small boat) and you have a recipe for disaster. A conductor moving through a stationary magnetic field will
generate an electromotive force or a current through the conductor. Any metallic object in or on the boat will respond the same way, even change in
your pocket. The result is a lot of dead boaters.

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